Automatic conthol op organ music



Aug. 7, 1928. 1,680,041

J. H. HAMMOND, JR

AUTOMATIC CONTROL OF ORGAN MUSIC Filed April 19, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 7, 1928; 1,680,041

J. H. 'HAMMOND. JR

AUTOMATIC CONTROL OF ORGAN MUSIC Filed April 19, 1924 Dean: N a can a: an cl :1 a q i N N UQUIZDB a n U aafl HGGEBH 1 a: anuclncauou Q on can a :1 =1 uuacn N 9. CI in:

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DD ODD ODD :mnu oana D HOODED HIS ATTORNEY INVENTOR J. H. HAMMOND JR AUTOMATIC CONTROL OF ORGAN MUSIC' Aug. 7, 1.928.

Filed-April 19, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Au 7, 1928.

UNITED smrss JOHN HAYS HAMMOND, 3a., on

GLOUCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

AUTOMATIC CONTROL OF ORGAN MUSIC,

Application filed April 19,

Some of the objects of this invention are to provide improved means for the automatic control of the tempo, stop action, coupler switches, swell shutters, etc, of an organ from the perforations in one or more music rolls; to provide improved means for operating a plurality of musicrolls in synchronism with a master roll and to provide means for producing certain qualities of tone peculiar to given instruments, such for example as a violin, etc., by the automatic rapid operation or" a secondary set of narrow swell shutters. y Other objects will appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in .which Figures 1 and 2 form collectively a diagrammatic view of a system constructed in accordance with this invention, it being understood thatFigure 2 is to be placed immediately to the right of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of a primary ac tion, whereby an electric circuit is controlled by suction; Figure 4 is an enlarged View, partly in section, of a portion of Figure 2; Figure 5 is an enlarged view, partly in section, of one of the magnets of Figure2; and Figure 6' is an enlarged sectional elevation of the shutter mechanism of Figure 1. Referring to the drawings, so much of a musical instrument as is necessary to an.

understanding of the present invention is illustrated. Broadly stated, it comprises a. player mechanism or action 10 (see Fig. 2) a tempo control mechanism 11, a synchronizing means 12, and a primary organ chamber 13 (Fig. 1), and secondary organ'chamber 14.

The player mechanism or action 10 consists of twotracker bars and 21 over which pass two sheets of perforated paper 22 and 23, the former being wound upon spools 24 and 25, and the latter upon spools 26 and 27. The spools and 27 aredriven by suitable motors 30 and 31, off well knownv construction. The speeds of these motors are controlled by suitable valves 32 and 33 respectively, which regulate the flow of air through the suction pipes 34 and. 35. The

valves 32 and 33 are operated by valve stems 36 and 37 which are connected together by a link system 38 so that they will be moved in unison For controlling portions of the musical instrument as desired, the tracker bar 20 is provided with a number of groups 1924. Serial 'No. 707,551.

of holes 40, 41 and 42. The holes in the group are connected by pipes 45 to a primary action 46, a sectional view of which 1s shown in Fig. 3' WVhen these pipes are opened to the air through holes in the paper strip 22, the air passing into the pipe 45 operates the valve mechanism 47 which in turn causes the bellows 48 to collapse, thus closing a circuit between contacts 49 and 50. The contact 49 is connected to a terminal 51 and the contact is connected by a conductor 52 to a. common terminal 53 which is connected by a. conductor 54to one pole of a battery 55. The terminals 51 are connected,

by conductors 57 to a swell motor 60 which operates a rod 61 for controlling the shutters 62 of the primary organ chest 13'. The return from the swell motor 60 is connected by a conductor 63 to the other pole of the battery 55.

For controlling the stop action and coupler switches of the organ according tothe perforations in the paper, the holes in the group 41 are connected by pipes 65 to the primary mechanism 46 and control currentto the terminals 66 which are connected by conductors 67 to theprlmary stop action 301 of the organ diagrammat cally shown in Figure 1, thus throwing them on or off depend-V ing upon Whether the corresponding holes in the tracker bar 20 are open to the atmosphere or closed. The return path of these circuits includes a conductor 68 which is connected to' the conductor 63 and thence through the battery 55 to the terminal 53.

Similarly, the holes of the group '42 are connected by pipes 70 to a primary action 71 and control respectively the circuits associatedwith the terminals 72, .73, 74, 75 and 76. The current supply through the primary mechanism 71 is from a battery 77 connected to the terminal 78. The primary actions 46 and 71 are connected to'pipes 80 and 81 respectively. Terminals 72, 73, 74 and 75 are connected by conductors 83, 84, 85, and 86 to solenoids 87, 88, 89 and 90 respectively,the cores of which are provided with pulleys 91, 92, 93 and 94. Three stationary pulleys 95, 96 and 97 are provided adjacent to the solenoids 87, 88, 89 and 90. The return from the solenoids is connected to the battery 77.

A flexible cord 100 is attached to a stationar'y pin 101, secured to the frame, and passes successively over the pulleys 91,

at one end IOU llU

95, 92, 96, 93, 97 and 94 and its other end is connected to one arm of a bell crank 102, the other arm of which forms a yoke and is provided with pins 103 which engage a slot in a member 104, (see Fig. 4). The member 104 is normally held between two collars 105 and 106, which are slidably mounted upon the valve stem 36. Located between the collars 165 and 106 and rigidly secured to the valve stem 36 is a small collar 107. Two collars 108 and 109 are rigidly secured to the valve stem Between the collars 108 and 105 and 109 and. 106 are two springs 110 and 111. Pivoted to the end of the valve stem 36 is a link 115, the

- other end of which-is pivoted to a lever 116 which in turn is pivoted at 117 so that it may be rotated by hand and thus control the valve 32.

The holes of the tracker bar 21 are divided into groups designated 120, 121 and 122. The holes of the group are connected by pipes 123 to the primary action 124 and control current to the terminals 125 which are connected by conductors 126 to a swell motor 127 which controls the action of the swell shutters of the secondary organ chamber 14. The swell shutters comprise a plurality of narrow strips 128 rigidly connected together in spaced parallel relation by strips 129, 130 and 131. The strip 131 extends upward into the swell motor box 127 and is connected to the apparatus in this box. Guides 132 p are provided for keeping the shutters 128 against the face of the chest The front of the chest 14 is provided with a plurality of slots 133 which are normally covered by the shutters 128 under the control of a swell motor 127. The shutters 128 are provided with a iacing of felt or other suitable material for deadening the sound. The shutters 128 and the slots 133 are made very narrow so that the motion of the rod 131 in order to move closed position will be small, thus making the operating 01 these shutters very rapid..'

The shutters 128 may be constructed out 01 any stuiable light material such as balsa wood or ot'thick aluminum tubing so as to reduce the inertia of the moving parts.

The return path for current from the swell motor 127 includes a conductor 138 of a battery139 and thence through a conductor 140 to a terminal v141 on the primary action 124. The primary action 124 is connected by a pipe 142 to the source of suction (not shown). The holes of the group 121 are connected by tubes 144 to the pri- 'mary action 124 and control current to terminals 145 which are connected by conductors 146 to the primary note action. 302 of the chests inthe organ chambers 13 and 14, thus causing the notes of these chests to be sounded when the corresponding circuit is closed. The return current from all these chests passes along a conductor 147 to the battery 139.

The hole 122 is connected by a pipe150 to the primary pneumatic 151 which controls the flow of current to a terminal 152 which is connected by a conductor 153 to one side of the winding of a solenoid 154, the other side of the winding of which is connected by a conductor 155 to one side of a battery 156, the other side of which is connected by a conductor 157 to a terminal 158 of the primary pneumatic 151. The terminal 76 of the primary pneumatic action 71 is connected by a conductor 160 to one side of the winding of a solenoid 161 the other side of which is connected by a conductor 162 to the battery 77. The solenoids 154 and 161 are provided with cores 163 and 164 (see Fig. 5) which at their upper ends are rigidly secured to plungers 165 which slide in cylinders 166 and 167 which are filled with any suitable fluid 168 such as light oil. vided with small openings 169 and large openings 170, the latter being covered by suitable flaps 171 so arranged that when a plunger moves up the flap 171 will move away from the hole thus allowing the fluid 168 to pass freely through this hole,-

heads by suitable insulators 177.

Located adjacent to the cross head 173 are four contacts 180, 181, 182 and 183, and located adjacent to the four contacts 184, 185., contacts 181 and 186 are 186 and 187. The connected by a con- The plungers 1 65 arepro cross head 174- are ductor and the contacts 183 and 184 are connected by a conductor 191. The contacts 182 and 187 are connected by a conductor 192 to one side of a battery 193 the other side of which is connected by a conductor 194 to the windings of two magnets 195 and 196. The other side of the winding-of the magnets 195 is connected by a conductor 197 to the contact 180 and the other side of the winding of the magnet 196 is connected by a. conductor 198 to the contact 185. Pivotally mounted between the magnets 195 and 196 is an arm 200 which, is connected by springs 201 and 202 to the bases of the magnets 195 and 196. Screwed to the end of the arm 200 is a spring plate 204 which at suitable times engages teeth 205 and 206 located upon a rod 207 which is supported in bearings 208 and 209. and, which, operates a se ondary neumatic valve 210 which is connected by pipes 211 and 215 to the pipe 35.

In the operation of the form of the invention shown the perforated strips of papers 22 and 23 are wound upon the rolls 25 and 27 by the pneumatic motors 30 and 31. The speed at which these rolls are turned depends on the position of the valve stems 36 and 37. As these are connected together by the link motion 38 they cause the valves 32 and 33 to be opened an approximately equal amount so that the rolls 25 and 27 should turn at the same speed. Due, however, to slight differences in the valves, the motors and the paper strips, these may move over the tracker bars 20 and 21 at slightly different speeds. This slight difference is corrected by the synchronizing means 12 which operates in the following manner: If the two paper strips 22 and 23 are moving at exactly the same speed, the right hand perforations in each strip will pass over the right hand holes of the tracker bars 20 and 21 at exactly the same time, thus operating the primary action 71 and 151 so as to close the circuits including the terminals 76 and 152 which allows current to pass through the two solenoids 161 and 154, thus energizing both at the same time. This will cause the two plungers 163 and 164 together with their respective arms 173 and 174 to be moved upward, thus breaking both circuits from the battery 193 so that neither magnet 195 nor 196 is energized and therefore the aux'liary valve 210 is not changed in position so that the two paper strips 22 and 23 continue to move at the same speed. If, however, the paper strip 23 should be moved slightly faster than the control strip 22 the perforation in the paper 23 would come opposite the hole 122 before the perforation in the paper 22 comes opposite the righthand hole of the group 42. In this event the primary action 151 will be operated to close the circuit through the conductor 153, solenoid 154, conductor 155, battery 156 and onductor 157, thus energizing the solenoid 154 which will cause the core 153 to be raised against the action of the spring 175 until the arm 173 engages the contacts 180 and 181, thus closing a circuit from the battery 193 through contact 187, arm 174, contact 186, conductor 190, contact 181, arm 173, contact 180, conductor 197, magnet 195 and conductor 194, back to the battery 193, thus energizing the magnet 195. This causes the arm 200 to be pulled to the left, the spring 204 thus engaging one of the teeth 205 on the rod 207. This will cause the rod 207 to be moved one step to the left, thus closing by a small amount the secondary valve 210 which will cut down the supply of air to the motor, 31, thus slowing down the speed of the paper strip 23. As soon as'the perforation has passed by the hole 122 the primary action 151 breaks the circuit through the solenoid 154 and the arm 173 is moved downward under the action of the spring 175. This motion, however, is slowed down by the action of the dash pot 166 so that a small interval of time intervenes before the arm 173 engages the contacts 182 and 183. This is necessary in order to prevent the perforations in the paper 22 operating magnet 196, for when the perforation passes in front of the hole 42 the primary action 71 will close the circuit through the solenoid 16, thus moving the arm 174 into engagement with the contacts 184 and 185, but as the arm 173 has not returned to its initial position as shown in Fig. 2 a circuitcannot be completed through the mag-, nets 196 as the contact 183 will not be en gaged by the arm 173.

1f the paper strip 22 is moving faster than the strip 23 the opposite action will take place and the solenoid 161 will be energized before the solenoid 154, thus closing the circuit through the magnet 196 and preventing the closing of the circuit through the magnet 195. This will cause the arm 200 to move to the right, thus moving the rod 207 through the distance of one tooth to the right, thus opening the necessaryvalve 210 and speeding up the motor 31. i

It is evident from the forgoing that the master roll 22 .will control the speed of any number of secondary rolls which it is desired to use, for if any of the secondary rolls should move a little faster than the master roll the perforation on the side of the paper will operate A to shut down the secondary valve controlling that roll, thus bringing its speed down to that of the master roll, and

should any secondary roll run slower than the master rollthe perforation on the master roll will operate thesecondary valve of this particular roll. so as, to speed it up and bring it in synchronism with the master roll.

The perforations in the paper 22 which pass in front of the holes 42 with the creep tion of the synchronizing hole at the right operate the primary action 71 to close circuits through the conductors 83 and 84, 85 and 86 depending upon which holes are un covered by the perforations. These circuits control the operation of the solenoids 8'7 and 88 and 90 respectively. As shown in Fig; 2 the two left hand holes of the group 42 are open, thus closing the circuits through the solenoids 87 and 88 which cause the pulleys 91 and 92 to be moved upward. In this position the bell crank'102 is in a central position so that the valve 32 is about half open, thus causing the motor 30 to run at about half speed. If a perforation in the paper 22 exposes another hole the circuit. will be closed from the terminal 74, conductor 85, solenoid 89, battery 77 back to the terminal 78, thus energizing the solenoid 89 which willlift lUIS the pulley 93 thus pulling in on the wire 100 which causes the bell crank 102 to be rotated in a counter clockwise direction, thus 1noving the member 104- (see Fig. t) to the right which pushes the collar 106 to the right against the action of the spring 111. The collar 105 is then forced to the right under the action of the spring 110. This collar engages the smallcollar 107 thus forcing the shaft 36 to the right which causes the valve 32 to be opened wide, thus increasing the speed of the motor 30 which will thenrun at about three quarters full speed.

If the fourth hole of the group is eX- posed the circuit will be closed through the solenoid 90, thus lifting the pulley 9a which pulls the cord 100 up still farther, thus rotating the bell crank 102 through an additional angle and moving the valve stem 36 farther to the right, thus causing the motor 30 to run at full speed.

As the holes of the group 42 are successively shut off the solenoids 90, 89, 88 and 87, will be successively de-encrgizcd and the pulleys 9d, 93, 92 and 91 will drop down thus lettin out on the cord 100 which will'allow the bell crank 102 to be rotated in a clockwise direction under the act-ion of the spring 102. This will cause the valve stem 36 to be moved to the left by successive amounts thus shutting down the valve 32 which will'decrease the speed of the motor 30. By pro viding sufficient number of holes and solenoids each step in the motion of the valve 82 can be made very small'so that any desired speed of the motor 30 may be obtained from the perforations in the paper 22.

If it is desired to control the speed of the motor 30 by hand the lever 116 is operated which moves the valve stem 36 independently of the bell crank 102 without affecting the position of this bell crank, as the secondary collar 10? can move to the right or left of the position of the collar 10% by merely compressing the springs 110 or 111 as the case may be.

The group of holes 11 when opened to the atmosphere by means of perforations in the paper 22 control the primary action 16 and close the circuits through the conductors 67.

which in turn may be connected to the stop action, coupler switches, etc, so that these can be controlled directly from the roll 22 without being operated inaz'iually.

In a similar manner the holes 10 cijintrc-l the circuits through the conductors 57 which in turn control. the operation of the mechanism in the swell motor 60 which may be of any standard and wellknown construction so as to operate the shutters 62 of the main organ chamber 13. In this way the perfora tions in the paper 22 which co-operate with the holes l0 eontrolthe position of the swell shutters 62.

The group of holes 121 in the tracker bar 1,eec-,04-1

slots are narrow and the moving parts have 7 small inertia. This rapid opening and closing of these slots can be so controlled by means of perforations in the paper 23 as to produce certain qualities of tone, such for example, as that produced by a violin. As the perforations for controlling the operation of the shutters 128 are ,cut on the same paper 23 as the perforations for sounding the notes or organ 14, absolute synchronism can be obtained between the notes which are sounded and the motion of the swell shutters, thus faithfully producing the desired tonal effects.

In a similar manner, additional mechanism such as coupler switches, etc., may be controlled by the paper rolls, and thus very complex tonal effects maybe readily produced.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that the master roll 22 controls its own speed, that is the tempo of the piece beingplayed, and also thespeed of a plurality of secondary rolls 28, which are kept in synchronism with the master roll 22. The master roll also controls the swell shutters, stop actions, and other mechanism, while the secondary roll controls the tonal effects produced by one of the organs as well as sounding the notes of the organ.

hile I have shown. and described and have pointed out in the annexed claims certain novel features of my invention, it will be understood that various omissions, sub stitutionsand changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

1,111 a musical i itrument a plurality of automatic playing mechanisms each including a. note sheet, a pneumatic motor for operating each of said note sheet mechanisms,

control valve for each of said motors for.

varying the speed thereof, and a by pass valve in shunt with at least one of said con trol valves for accelerating the speed of the respective motor. 2

2. In a musical instrument, the combination with automatic playing mechanism, a motor for driving said mechanism, a'control valve for varying the speed of said motor, a plurality of electromagnets for actuating posed between said power source and each of said motors, and means controlled by one of said automatic adapted to increase the speed of all of said automatic playing mechanisms.

4. In a musical instrument, the combination with a paper roll having perforations, a motor for driving said roll, a source of power for said motor, a control device interposed between the power source and said motor, for controlling the speed of said motor, and means controlled by perforations in the paper roll for accelerating or retardin said motor.

o. In a musical instrument, the combination with a paper roll having perforations, a motor for driving said roll, a source of power for said motor, a control device interposed between the power source and said. motor, and normally adjusted to drive the motor at an intermediate speed, and means controlled by perforations in the paper for modifying the adjustment of said control device.

6. In a musical instrument, a plurality of independently movable music sheets each provided with note perforations, a plurality of groups of actions for cont-rolling portions of the musical instrument, each of said groups being controlled by the perforations of one of said note sheets respectively, a motor for driving each of said music sheets, a source of power for operating said motors, a bypass valve operatively interconnecting said motor and at least one of said motors for accelerating the respective music sheets, and means controlled by the conjoint action of said music sheets to cause said bypass valve to increase the speed of the respective motor.

7. In an automatic musical instrument the combination with a plurality of groups of actions for controlling portions of the musical instrument in accordance with the musiplaying mechanisms cal composition, of a corresponding plurality of independently movable music sheets each provided with note perforations for controlling the said actions, a motor for driving each of said music sheets respectively, each motor having a'controlled valve for controlling its speed, and means associated with one of said music sheets and actuated by the conjoint action of all of said music sheets to bypass said valve thereby to accelerate the respective motor.

8. In a musical instrument, a plurality of note sheets for separately actuating portions of the instruments, a member for each of said note sheets and controlled thereby and having a normal and an off normal position, and means to accelerate the speed of one of said note sheets elfective only when a single one of said members is off normal.

9. In a musical instrument, a plurality of note sheets for separately actuating por tions of the instruments, a member for each of said note sheets and controlled thereby and having a normal and an off normal'position, and means to accelerate the speed of one of said note sheets efiective only when a single one of said members is in its normal position. V

10. In a musical instrument, a plurality of note sheets for separately actuating portions of the instruments, a member for each of said note sheets and controlled thereby and having a normal and an off normal position, and means to accelerate the speed of one of said note sheets effective only when a single one of said members is off normal and inefiective when all are off normal.

11. In a musical instrument, a plurality of independently movable music sheets each provided with note perforations, a plurality of groups of actions for controlling portions of the musical instrument in accordance with a musical composition, each of said groups being controlled by the perforations of one of said note sheets respectively, means for driving each of said music sheets, and means associated with one of said driving means for accelerating the respective music sheet independently of the remainder.

Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this 4th day of April, A. D. 1924:. 7

JOHN HAYS HAMMOND, JR. 

